Cover Oregon Transitions To The Federal System

After months of failed attempts to salvage the state’s health insurance exchange website, the Cover Oregon board finally voted in April to scrap it and switch over to the federal system. A few weeks later, Governor Kitzhaber appointed Tina Edlund as transition project director — the person in charge of making sure the switch goes smoothly.

The goal is to complete the transition by November 15, when open enrollment starts up again via healthcare.gov. There will be many changes: the Oregon Health Authority — not Cover Oregon — will determine eligibility for the Oregon Health Plan. And the federal government will handle eligibility assessments and enrollment for private plans, as well as training for insurance agents and brokers.

We’ll get a progress report on the transition from Tina Edlund.

What questions do you have for her?

Editor’s note: This post has been edited to more accurately reflect the changes taking place under the transition.